Conner's Family
by Sarcastic Musician
Summary: This is a story about Conner's family from "Schooled." Told from the point of view of Pam's wife [I haven't decided on her name yet]. Starts off at their first appearance on the show and continues on with their relationship with Cam and Mitchell as well as the rest of the family.
1. The School

So I wrote this because I really would like to see more of Pam and (well I haven't figured out her name yet but I'm considering, Anna or Kate?, i[if you have any ideas leave it in a review]). I was hoping to make this a multi-chap and have them with Cam and Mitchell as well as alone, plus I figured I'd include the rest of the family at some point. Please leave a review if you want me to continue.

* * *

It was always my fear when we had Conner, I knew how cruel bullies were. So for his sake, we tore ourselves away from him early yesterday, before anyone could pay enough attention to sling the comments around.

God knows the family drawing will bring enough attention.

* * *

I am halfway to work when Pam's voice comes from the speaker phone. Unlike the smile her calls usually bring to my face, her distraught tone –the tone reserved for our son and I- causes me to pull the car over in an effort to focus enough to understand what she is saying.

My first thought is that it had happened early. Some innocent child had been the victim of hearing someone's bigoted words and in turn my son was made to suffer.

It isn't until Pam has calmed enough that she tells me of the hair-pulling incident.

As horrible and embarrassing as Conner doing that is, I can't help the little piece of me from being relieved. He has many years ahead of him to deal with the taunts; he deserves to be an innocent for as long as possible in this world.

I tell Pam, I'll meet her in the parking lot of the school, and –after I hear her sigh- turn around.

I smile softly as I watch Pam's pacing form from the entrance of the parking lot. Her shoulders tense, and hand constantly brushing her hair from her eyes. This may not be the easiest life, but with her in it, I don't care.

"Hey, Stranger." I say with a smile, as she opens my door

"Hey." She replies, pulling me out to give me a quick hug, we vowed not to give the few parents left grieving in the parking lot, anything to tell their children.

Pulling away, I brush some hair back behind her ears, "Might as well go in" I say with a half-smile.

"I guess so, God, I feel like I'm back in high school, principals never liked me, you know?" Pam replies with a smirk as she grasps my hand with her own and gives it a slight squeeze, earning her a straggled smile from me.

Her eyes tell me she knows what I was worried about, but I know in the back of her mind the thought has struck at some point in her anger.

We walk –hands brushing- into the school's main office. One step in, and my heart breaks.

"Honey, what's wrong?" I question rushing to my teary eyed son

Too soon to fathom, his little arms are wrapped around my neck where he hides his face. Standing up I cradle him to me, searching out Pam's eyes. The anger I see, makes me pray for the cause of my son's tears.

"What happened?!" I hear her harsh tone question the secretary

I don't hear the reply over my whispered words of comfort to Conner, but Pam's face is enough of an answer for me.

"Hey, Bud." She says to the boy in my arms, "Mom and I have to go talk to some people right now, how about you stay here and color Mom something for her office, and then we'll get going?" She explains, hands shaking in repressed anger.

"Sure, Mommy." He says in a small voice, whipping his eyes, but his grip doesn't release.

"Come on, Con. The guys at the office want to see another Conner Liss original!" I compel

"We can't leave them waiting." Pam plays along with an eye roll; she never did like the guys in my office.

"Okay." He finally relents, easing out of his hold and onto his own feet.

As he walks to the coloring table, Pam and I make our way to the office pointed out by the secretary, my hand on the swell of her back in an effort to comfort her.

All hope I had of being discreet for Conner's sake, and of comforting Pam, is lost with her opening statement.

"Alright, whoever made our son cry has messed with the wrong moms."

Yep, yep, that's my wife for you.

Moving to the side of the room, –with Pam by my side- I'm a little relieved to see a gay couple, well relieved enough to be more upset at the Conner situation.

"I'm so sorry that we had to meet like this. But I'm sure you can understand –as parents- the instinct to protect your child." The man in the suit tries to calm Pam down. Bad move.

"Yeah, it's what's making me want to punch you in the neck right now." Is Pam's ever-so-eloquent response. Hoping to ease her anger a bit, I place my hand on her thigh in comfort.

A move that has a look shot my way. Yep, someone's angry.

The situation is only made worse by Pink Shirt's comment on our son. Yet another bad move.

Thankfully the principal cuts in to calm the situation down.

The anger I had been feeling, accompanied with the dread and nervousness, of the last twenty minutes brought up some word vomit and I couldn't stop myself from the remark about the lumber yard. I'm going to hear about that later.

Unfortunately, Suit-man didn't catch Pam's increase of anger and instead tried to smooth over the situation by finding some common ground. How many bad moves can a person make in five minutes?

The kind question paves the way for Pam's next angry-toned remark. Times like these I feel like I have two children to deal with.

"Okay, you know what? He's trying to be nice and you just called him Sally." I say in a voice remarkable similar to my talking-to-children voice

Just as Suit-man's question paved the way for my anger, my own comment allowed Pink Shirt's.

Finally the principal ends the tedious arguing by calling a play date between the children. Something I can't help but agree to, if not for arguments sake, but to hopefully give Conner an ally throughout schooling.

Unfortunately, the children -otherwise known as my wife and Pink Shirt- continue their arguing and taunting using pointless stereotypes. So what if we have an unfinished canoe in our living room? Conner and Pam are waiting for the big unveiling of their Popsicle stick project.

After who knows how many more insults are hurled and our plans for the next day are set, we make our way back to the office to collect our children, maybe tomorrow will be a better first day.

"Hey, Con. Ready to go?" I ask, as the face of my son comes into view.

"Yeah, I made this for you!" He says, handing me a brightly colored …well blob, but it's way better than anything I can draw.

"Let's go, little man." Pam says as she ruffles his hair, with a tight smile. I knew that comment about the lumber yard had gotten to her.

"What're we gonna do?" He questions on our way out to our side-by-side cars.

"We are going to have a talk about how to treat people." I say, in the same town I had when talking to Pam moments before.

Before he can argue, Pam lifts him up in a hug. Relief is evident in her eyes.

She straps him into the car seat in her car –my car doesn't have one at the moment- before turning to me.

"I'll see you at home, okay?" I say, glancing around before leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Yeah, drive safe." She replies, releasing me from her arms and stepping to the driver's door with a smile.

After a few seconds, we are driving back down the road to our house, Conner occasionally reaching his hand up to wave out the back window.


	2. The Talk

_Hey, here's the next chapter. Its shorter, but next chapter will include the play date scene with Cam and Mitchell. There will be either a one shot of what the lumber incident was at some point or possibly a flashback, I haven't decided that far in advance yet. Thanks for reading! _

_Thanks, 'Guest' for the review, next chapter will include plenty of Cam and Mitchell and will kick off their permanent involvement in this story. Thanks!_

* * *

"Did you really have to bring up the lumber yard incident?" Pam questions from the doorway to our room having just put Conner to bed, her voice soft as insecurity sets in.

Her voice, as well as the suppressed wetness in her eyes, has me across the room in seconds. Reaching out, I grasp her hand pulling her further into the room and closing the door simultaneously.

Locking her other hand with my own, I pull her closer so our clasped hands hang in a sharp 'v'. Searching her face, I can't stop the anger at myself for the hurt I find there.

Why am I so stupid?

Giving her hand as gentle squeeze, I bring the hand up to her cheek, both in comfort and in an effort to raise her gaze from her study of our clasped hands.

"I shouldn't have brought that up. I'd like to say it had something to do with alcohol talking or something, but it was just –well- word vomit comes to mind." I say, rambling due to the sinking feeling her wet eyes bring to me.

"It's not just that…I just…I hate that you're still so afraid of anyone finding out." She pauses, and I shift a little closer for comfort as I hear her voice crack. "At first it made since –don't get me wrong, I know your family- but we've been here seven years now, and you're still acting like your mother could pop out of every corner." She finishes voice thick with love and hurt, causing my eyes to drop to the floor.

Taking a moment to breath, I gain strength from our clasped hands before I speak. "I know, that's not the only issue. Don't try to cover this up; we need to talk about things like this." Sliding my hand from her cheek, I move some unruly hair from her eyes. "We both know I saw that strangled look earlier."

"I don't…" She pauses clearing her throat, "What happened at the lumber yard happened because of that though. And now you want to hide us from Conner's school!" She says, closing her eyes for a moment, before using our still linked had to lead me to sit on the bed, while she began pacing in front of me.

"I don't _want _to hide-" I begin to say, but stop due to her raised hand begging for a moment to finish

"I know you want to protect him, I do too. But, he's going to be a strong kid, he has to be, and we'll be there to help him." She pauses, stopping her pacing for a moment to look me in the eyes, before continuing both. "The more we try to hide this, the more questions he's going to have, and maybe he'll end up thinking it's wrong too? Who knows, but if we hide us like were some big bad thing out in public, what do you think he's going to think?" She finishes, yet her pacing continues, her hands flying to tug at her hair constantly.

"I've thought of that, you have to know I have. It's just…" I say, reaching my hand out to grasp hers again, stopping her in her tracks. "For the majority of my life, I've had to hide this; I guess it's just hard to be more open. You have to know I don't like it, you have to. Not being able to hug you or kiss you, or even just hold your hand in public, due to my own…my fear, it's not easy…I just, I can't seem to get over it." I finish, floundering a bit, eyes dropping to my lap.

Immediately, I hear her sigh, and feel the bed dip beside me.

"Look, we'll just start off slow, like when we were first dating, remember? When you feel comfortable, hold my hand when we walk down the street. But only when you feel comfortable, we'll work through this, okay?" She asks, the fight gone from her voice as she wraps her arm around my waist.

Leaning in closer to her, I take a deep breath breathing in her comforting scent.

"Okay." I say with a hesitant smile, already feeling a weight lifted.

"Good." Pam replies, pressing her lips to my cheek

Reaching my arm back, I wrap it around her waist taking comfort in holding and being held by her.

Resting my head on her shoulder, I can't help but hold her tighter, and smile at the feel of her pulling me closer.

"I'll try harder tomorrow." I promise, turning to kiss her neck.

"Mmhhmm." She sighs in answer, as I continue.


	3. The Playdate

_Hey, here's the next chapter. After this, I am done using pieces of the episode. Thanks again 'Guest'!_

* * *

A persistent buzz from the nightstand wakes me up as I fling my hand out desperate to find the evil device.

Finally grasping the phone in my palm, I flip it open nearly blinding my blurry eyes only to find a message from Ryan.

_'The Richardsons' have called a meeting ASAP. Carpool?' _

_'Yeah, be ready in ten.'_ I text back, groaning as I leave the warm bed and feel the arctic ice that is the hardwood floor.

Checking the clock, I give myself until 5:15 to shower, leaving five minutes to dress.

Stepping out of the joined bathroom after showering and dressing, I make my way to the bed.

Leaning down, I go to kiss Pam's forehead, when her voice makes me jump.

"Where're you going?" She asks, voice slurred with sleep

"Ryan texted, the bosses called a meeting. He'll be here in a few." I whisper back, my words causing her to groan.

"I hate that guy." She says in reply, moving to pull me back to sleep

The honking of a horn, as well as my resistance, causes her to groan releases a sigh.

"I'll be home soon." I say, leaning down to kiss her, "Love you."

"Love you too." She says, cracking an eye open

Walking quickly into Conner's room, I quietly open the door and kiss Conner's forehead in goodbye.

Walking out the front door, I'm sure to lock it and make my way to Ryan's silver Prius.

"Hey." I say, climbing into the car accepting his offered coffee with a silent thanks.

"Another day, another dollar." He says tiredly, and before I know it the crazy day begins.

_'Don't forget we have the play date with that idiot tonight. Love you.'_ Pam's text brings a smile to my face as I sit in the meeting taking notes.

God, this has been the longest four hours of my life. It's only ten and I'm on my seventh coffee.

By twelve the meeting is let out, and after some horrible, tedious, mean (I'm too tired to think of a better word) paperwork, Ryan and I call it a day.

"Well that was gross." He says as he gets in the driver's seat.

"Don't talk about it." I say as I lean my head against the window

"So where were you yesterday? I wasn't supposed to pick you up was I?" He asks concerned seconds later as we pull onto the freeway

"No, no. Conner had a little issue at school Pam and I had to go talk to the principal." I say, happy to slip Pam into the conversation.

"Good. I mean…Not good. Just…that I didn't forget to pick you up." He flounders.

"I get it, Ryan." I respond with a chuckle.

"So what happened?" He asks, after his redness had gone disappeared.

"He pulled a little girl's hair, and one of his dads over reacted. Which in turn, made Pam mad and there was this whole childish fight." I rant, before catching myself, "Sorry, I know you don't want to hear this."

"That's alright." He says kindly, "Whenever you need to talk, you know where to find me."

"Thanks." I reply as he pulls onto my street.

His responding, "Well, look, if…if you ever need a guy to sit down and talk to Conner...you know, I'm your guy…well not your guy, obviously, but.." is drowned out by the vision of Pam and Conner playing in the front yard.

"Yeah sure," I reply to the unheard comments he had made, "Thanks." I say in reference to the ride as I get out of the car.

"Hey guys," I say, opening and closing the gate to our front yard.

"Mom!" Conner squeals in excitement locking his arms around my legs.

"How's my little man?" I ask leaning down with a smile to tickle my little boy.

"Stop, stop," He says between giggles, "Mommy!" He calls for help

"Sorry, Con. Mom's got you." Pam says with a laugh, making her way towards us

"No fair!" He calls between giggles, finally I let him go and he falls dramatically on the grass to catch his breath.

"Hey." Pam says as she wraps her arm around my waist, "Tired?"

"You have no idea." I reply, giving her a chaste kiss.

"Come on," Pam says, pulling me back to the soft grass under the shade of the tree.

She sits down, back to the tree, while settle down beside her, resting my pounding head on her shoulder. Conner comes over, laying across our laps, happy to have both of us home.

Pam softly rubs my back and shoulder with her right hand, while brushing the hair from Conner's eyes with her left.

"Shh, shh, Conner, mom's trying to sleep." I hear as I come back to consciousness.

"Okay, Mommy." Comes Conner's response, I can hear the rustling of grass as I will myself to open my eyes.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." Pam says softly, giving my temple a kiss.

"Morning." I say with a roll of my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Three. We'll have to leave soon." She responds, pulling me closer with the arm still wrapped around my shoulders.

"Are you guys ready?" I ask, stifling my yawn.

"Yeah, you want to leave now? We'll have time to stop for gas if so." She replies back, standing up at my nod.

Grasping her helping hand, I stand up and follow her to the car Conner has been waiting at since the beginning of the start of our conversation.

Buckling him into the car, I get into the passenger seat, locking my hand with Pam's as we drive down the road.

Thirty minutes later, we're sitting in the car outside of Cam and Mitchel's house my hand nearly being broken by Pam's grip.

"Can we go?" Conner asks, anxious to play with his new friend

I glance as Pam as I feel her grip subdue.

"Sure we can." Pam says, ending her death grip

"Are you okay?" I ask, knowing how annoyed she gets at Cam's comments

"Of course." She says, dropping a kiss to my knuckles, before getting out of the car and unbuckling Conner.

Moments later we're at the door where awkward hellos are exchanged, and soon we're sitting in their green walled living room watching the kids play.

With the kids in the room in was easier to calm the two other children, but when the kids went to play with the toys in Lilly's room, I could tell the atmosphere would change.

After the first stereotype thrown out by Cam AKA pink shirt -does he ever wear any other colors?- and Pam's reaction, I decide it's time to get to know these people as people without the pressure and anger there was back in the principal's office.

But, it's awkward.

So I start rambling, like I tend to do when I'm uncomfortable and Pam's on fight mode.

Cue the awkward laugh.

"So glad we are doing this." I say hoping for a response, I can see Mitchel's trying to do the same thing.

"Yeah, yeah, me too." He says

"I mean, we're the only gay parents in the class." I try again

"Yeah, we should be supporting one another. I mean we have so much in common." He replies in kind.

"Exactly." I say, but the room dissolves into awkward silence once again.

Once again with the rambling I go. "So…tell us about yourselves." I say to the men, and I watch Mitchel's eyes light up happy to have something to dispel the awkwardness, I can't help but feel the same.

"I'm and environmental lawyer." He replies with a forced smile.

"I'm a homemaker." Cam follows, earning a not-so-quiet "huh" from Pam

And the anger's back.

Mitchel quickly glances between our two childish partners before asking, "And, uh, what do you do?"

"I'm a financial consultant." I say with a forced smile matching Mitchel's

"I'm a contractor." Pam says seconds later, earning a "hmph" from Mitchel, causing her to reply, "You thought I was a P.E. teacher?

"I figured." Cam replies, "Hey, quick question, how do you guys get the car seat on the motorcycle?"

Getting a little angry myself at these insults I try to continue, making sure to only make eye contact with Mitchel, "Ah, you know Conner is having a birthday next week, maybe Lily would like to come?"

"Oh, she would love that." Mitchel answers for her with that same smile.

Cam opens his mouth and I brace myself to save his life by attempting to hold Pam down, but instead he asks politely, "Oh great, are you guys having a clown?"

To which Pam replied, "God, no. I hate clowns, they're so creepy."

Which ends up starting another argument leading us to Lily's locked door.

And yes, maybe we overreacted a bit.

But I maintain that I couldn't hear any movement from behind the door.

Finally, after a blurry, and panic-filled two or three minutes -as well as some bargaining- we are reunited with our kids.

Moments later, the kids are playing in the living room, and Mitchel and I are sitting in the kitchen, while Pam and Cam 'fix' Lily's door. I'm guessing they are either taking the lock off or the whole door, we did leave the more…dramatic of the four of us to deal with it, I wouldn't be surprised if Pam goes home to take all the doors –including the closet doors.

"Would you like coffee or something?" Mitchel asks as he goes to fill the pot

"Yes, please." I say with a real smile this time.

"Tough time at the office or something?" He questions kindly

"Yeah, I got called in at five this morning and didn't leave until two." I say with a grimace, glad to finally be talking civilly

"Yeah, I know how that is." He says, grabbing two mugs from the cupboard and filling them, "Creamer?"

"Yes, thank you." I reply with a smile, reaching out to grab the mug of heaven.

"Can I talk to you about something?" I ask, hoping to see if I am on the same page as him

"Go ahead." He allows, burning his tongue in the process

"I know this won't be easy for the kids, the whole growing up with two moms or two dads. I guess, I was just hoping you were thinking their friendship would be good for them in the long run. Because if so, we really do need to try harder to become friends, or at least civil toward each other for their sake." I say, rambling a bit, but feeling a bit relieved at his nodding head.

"I know exactly what you mean." Mitchel says with the first real smile I've ever seen him wear.

"Good, so what are we going to do about the other two kids?" I ask, nodding toward the back hall leading to Pam and Cam.

"How about a dinner? We're on the same side; we just have to have them get to know each other better, so maybe they can get on our side too." He questions with a smile

We decide on the following night seeing as the duo seemed to be getting along better since the incident. Well that or one of them is dead.


	4. The Drive

Sorry for the pause, holidays and work d on't mix well for my writing :P There wi ll be another chapter update today, I ju st wanted to get this out before hand a s a sort of transition paragraph. Thanks again Guest! Have I ever told you you'r e my hero? You are the wind beneath my w ings...I forgot the rest, basically I re ally appreciate your support :D

* * *

"Well that was fun." I sigh, sinking int o the comfort of the sun warmed leather seat.

The only response I get is a glare from the passenger side.

"Masochist." She mutters under her breat h.

"Hey it wasn't so bad after the whole lo cked-in-a-room debacle." I say looking i n the review to check on Conner. Only t o have a soft smile settle on my face af t er noticing his sleeping form.

Checking the mirrors I turn on the engin e and start the drive back to the house. 

It's not until we reach the freeway that I notice her eyes on me.

"What?" I question, reaching my hand up to smooth my hair, from the corner of my eye I notice the action brought a smile to her face.

"Nothing." She responds, linking her han d with mine that had found purchase on t he mode changing stick, causing my smil e to brighten as I squeeze her hand.

"When we get home I'm taking off that ki ds door." She announces after turning to look at Conner.

I roll my eyes quickly glancing her way as I answer, "Its only fair, you and Cam did -not at all dramatically- remove Li ly's door."

"Dramatic or effective?" She replies wit h her patented sarcastic lilt.

Another eye roll, and we're nearing the exit.

"Oh before I forget, we're having dinner with Mitchell and Cam tomorrow night."

The shocked look in response brought my smile to turn into a smirk, childish yes , but it's payback for her overreacting earlier.

"Do we have to?" She asks barely suppres sing a whine.

At the stop light to turn onto our stree t I stop turning to look her in the eyes for the moments the red light allowed.

"Look if they're going to be allies we n eed to be civil. Besides," I say as the light turns green, "they're so open, I f igured it would be easier for us to be t oo." I finish feeling rather than seeing the smile taking up residence on her fa ce.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to go for one night." She answers the light in her moo d shining through in her tone.

I smile softly as we pull into the drive way.

"I think it'll be fine." I say turning o ff the engine leaning past the center co nsole to kiss her quickly.


	5. The Babysitter

_Thanks again guest, you make me feel like I'm not crazy for writing this story! :P Here's the next chapter :D_

* * *

"When's Jenna getting here?" I call down the hall as I pull on my shoes in the bedroom.

"John's dropping her off after soccer, should be any minute now." Pam's voice sounds from the kitchen.

Nodding to myself I finish with my shoes and do my best to calm my curly locks.

Glancing into the mirror, I can't help but make a funny face before I leave the room.

Walking down the short hallway, with walls littered with images of our small family I can't help the rising smile.

"Hey" I say as I enter the kitchen i place a quick kiss on Pam's temple, and continue walking until I can see the images Conner is drawing.

"What's that buddy?" Pam asks, with a soft smile.

After a few more scribbles, Conner glances up with a bright smile.

"I made on for you and mama." He says sliding a page to me and reaching out for Pam to grab the page from his hand.

Studying the image for a moment I can make out the signs of his depictions of a heart.

"Thank you, sweetie." I say reaching out to ruffle his hair.

"I made them so you guys'll remember I love you even far away." He explains, pink blossoming on his pale face.

Maybe we should take him to the park more often.

"That's great buddy, but you want me to let you in on a secret?" Pam asks him in her mommy voice.

"What?" He questions eyes bright in curiosity.

"Even if you were on the moon, we'd still feel your love, and you'd still feel ours." She says voice warm.

"Really?" He asks

"Of course, that's what love is. No matter the distance you can always feel it." She answers finishing with a look at me.

I vaguely notice Conner turn back to his coloring as I find myself lost in her eyes.

The ringing of the doorbell brings me back and I flash her a quick smile before I turn to let the sitter in.

"Hey Jenna." I say opening the door after checking the peep hole.

"Hi, Michelle." She responds, "I'm ready for Conner duty!" She says with a smile.

"Good, you'll need your energy with that one." I say as I lead her back to the kitchen, "he's drawing right now, dinner is in the fridge. Don't worry about his lack of a bedroom door or nightlight tonight, Pam went a little crazy." I explain with a smirk in Pam's direction.

"I resent that!" Came her sarcastic reply.

"Okay, maybe not crazy. But overprotective to an insane degree." I clarify sharing a chuckle with Jenna at Pam's mock pout.

"If you're done insulting me in front of the help," she shoots a mock glare at Jenna, "we should get going."

"Love you too, Aunty." Is Jenna's reply

"Feel free to use whatever you want. You know where everything is." I say as Pam leads me to the door.

"Got it, see you soon." She calls from the doorway as we make our way to the car

* * *

"Nice place." Pam whispers as I finish getting out of the car to meet her behind it.

"I think I've been here before for the boss' staff appreciation thing." I say stepping closer to her side.

"Psh, yeah one dinner is enough to make up for all your 'emergency meetings'." She replies with a sarcastic tint to her tone.

"My thoughts exactly." I respond turning to stand in front of her with a smile.

She flashes a smile back and before We can get too lost, the flickering of waving arms shines in my peripheral view.

"We have company." I whisper with a light tone, feeling happiness and freeness lifting my mood.

Her eyes show her switch back into reality, dropping her smile as she speaks "Let's get this over with."

"Hey guys," I greet with a less forced smile.

"Hey Michelle, Pam." Mitchell greets doing a strange stand up, sit down, back up dance, unsure of how to greet us.

Taking our places, Pam and I slide into the booth with Cam across from her and Mitchell across from me.

"So..."


	6. The Dinner

Here's the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews Guest and pandacookienom! You have no idea how good it feels to not be alone in liking this story :)

Now I don't want to gravel, but I mean, it's my birthday and a nice present would be a review...just saying :P Hope you like it!

* * *

"Sorry we're a bit late; the babysitter had to get off soccer practice." I say trying to start conversation after Mitchell's drawn out and awkward "So.

"It's no problem, we left Lily with my sister and ended up talking for a while, so we only got her a few minutes before you." Mitchell answers with that same nervous smile

"Have you guys been here before?" Mitchell asks taking a sip from his glass

"I've been a few times, boss appreciation type stuff. It's Pam's first time." I finish with a smile, not wanting to start the fighting early tonight.

"Same here." Mitchell answers, the conversation trailing off

Thankfully the waitress came moments later, and after a quick scan through the menu all out orders were placed.

"We were just-" Mitchell begins to speak, but a voice from the right of us cuts him off.

"I never thought I'd see you here, outside of one of the boss' dinners." Ryan's voice calls above the sound of the other customers. At his voice I feel Pam's shoulders tense and Cam's eyes flash to her.

"Ryan," I greet with a forced smile, the tension in the air causing me to will him away.

Noticing that he wasn't leaving or responding, I decide to do what I do best and ramble, "This is Mitchell and Cam, parents from Conner's school, and you know Pam." I finish leaning a bit closer to her

A chorus of hellos, Pam's voice missing from the greeting, follows, yet he does not budge.

"Is there something you wanted, Ryan?" I question trying to be polite

"I was under the impression that you were deciding on day for me to talk with Conner?" He questions

"About what?" I question, unsure of his meaning

"So he could have a guy influence." He answers, and for the first time in my life I have to both restrain myself and Pam.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I assure you Conner will be fine without your influence. Now if you could move along, I'd rather not have this talk now." I say turning away from him, and catching Mitchell's eye.

"Okay…see you Monday." He speaks, inching away from the table.

"So that's who you were talking about." Cam says to Pam, who answers with a nod.

"Yeah, Mitchell used to have one of those." Cam replies, with a sympathetic sigh

"Wha- I did not!" Mitchell tries to defend himself glancing from me to Cam, to Pam to Cam, and back again in a dizzying cycle.

"Do you remember Kelsy?" Pam questions in a calm, talking-to-a-child voice.

"Oh." he says, eyes glancing down to the table in memory.

"Ryan's really not that bad, he just…has some issues he needs to deal with." I say in the kindest way possible.

"Yeah, like the fact that he's in love with my wife." Pam says with an eye roll

"So how'd you deal with this Kelsy, chick?" Pam asks Cam in a conspirator's tone.

"He didn't," Mitchell answers for him, "she moved to the Washington offices a few years ago."

Clearing his throat, Cam gets our attention and locking eyes with Pam he taps the side of his knows twice, causing them to share a smile.

"What did you do!" Mitchell asks shocked

"We'll talk later." Cam tells Pam, causing Mitchell's shock to continue.

"Cam." Mitchell asks in a questioning tone.

"I didn't do a thing." Cam answers with an oddly sincere and insincere tone and expression.

Shaking his head knowing he wouldn't be getting an answer he asks us, "So how long have you guys been together?"

"Ten years in May." I answer with a smile, "And you guys?"

"Eight years this September." Cam replies, with the same immensely happy smile that I had, "We met at my friend Pepper's party, we were playing charades and he got the answer I was drawing without even guessing."

I can feel Pam's walls come down as she chuckles –hand clasped in mine on the seat- at their retelling of the story, from both perspectives.

"So now no one will play charades with us anymore." Mitchell finishes with a laugh, "What about you two, how'd you meet?"

"Well we met in college freshman year. There wasn't a party or anything, like yours, we were never even in the same classes, really. My brother, John, and Michelle were friends. One day when I was spending time with John, he wanted to go to this coffee shop to say hi to his friend, and that's how we met." Pam finishes the story before the sad parts, but I can still see the pain of it in her eyes, causing me to squeeze her hand in comfort.

"Is that when you started dating? Cause if so, we have people to call; they always say Cam and I are crazy for going for coffee after the party." Mitchell says with a friendly smile.

"Not really, I don't really think you want to hear this. It's a long story." I say, trying to save them from it.

"This dinner is about getting to know each other, we have time. Besides you sat through two tellings of our charades story." Mitchell answers in kindness.

"Okay, it's only fair." I say –more to myself than them- letting out a deep breath, the story always making guilt swell in my chest.

"Well, after we met we started spending more and more time together – not dating- just hanging out like friends would. She would come into the coffee shop and talk as I worked. After John graduated we hung out more and more. And in honesty it did always feel different being around her than my other friends, I just…. I grew up in a catholic household, and my mother was very vocal in her…distaste of anything other than a man and woman being together. And I couldn't lose my mother, she was all I had left, you know?" I ask, trying to get my guilt in check.

"My family had always known I was a lesbian, they didn't care in the least. But I saw the pain her mom put her through when she came to the college every other weekend with a new guy for her. So I didn't say anything." Pam injects, gripping my hand

"We were almost together toward the end of college. I say almost because we weren't public, it just felt like we were more together, I guess. But…I got scared. It just felt to right, but every other weekend I'd hear my mom's preaching on how wrong that life style was. So…I don't know why, but I decided that it'd be best for us, if there wasn't an us, and after graduation I moved back to my small town, and got a job at the bank." I say, finding strength in our clasped hands, and glancing up I can't help but laugh in nervousness at Cam's teary eyes.

"What'd you do?" Cam whispers, drawn into our tale

"I...I'd love to say I ran after her as soon as I found out she left. But, it took my brother talking some since into me before I would do anything. You see, I had gotten a letter a few weeks before graduation, from her mom, basically saying that my ways were wrong and that I better not be influencing her daughter who would be getting married soon anyway and that I should just give it up. So I did, for a week or so anyway. Then John came crashing through my apartment yelling one night, until I came to my senses." Pam says with a soft chuckle.

"So what'd you for?" Mitchell echoes his partner, leaning forward

"I packed my stuff and moved to her town." Pam says with a proud smile. "You would not believe how shocked she was when I was her two o'clock meeting." She chuckles.

"Well you did just run into my office, tell me you love me, and bear hug me." I say, rolling my wet eyes, receiving only a shrug in response. "Needless to say, after her confession, and mine in turn, I lost my job, and -as things do in small towns- word got back to my mother. Luckily by the time she found out, we were already on our way back to her apartment by the college a day's trip away." I say

"And we've been together ever since." Pam finishes the story, pulling me closer with our clasped hands.

"Wow." Is the only answer either of the men can think to say

Luckily as they continue to run through the story, the food arrives and the quiet is less awkward, and more normal.

"I'd like to make a toast!" Cam announces rising his glass, and we follow in shared confusion. "To John." He says with a smile, causing smiles to brighten around the table.

"To John." We agree, clinking glasses, my eyes meeting Pam's as we sip.

"We should do this again sometime." Mitchell states as we all pay our checks

"Yeah, I think it'll be fun. We still don't really know anyone over here." I reply with a smile, "Besides they're getting along better at least." I say nodding my head in the direction of the conspiring faces of Cam and Pam.

"Yeah, you might want to say good bye to Ryan now." He jokes, with a kind smile.

"You have no idea." I reply, "It's going to be tough trying to make a new friend at work." I sigh with a smile.

"Well now you have Cam and me, what more could you want?" He replies with a laugh.

"True." I answer, eyes glancing back at Pam love filling them.

What more could I want?


End file.
